Fan unit

ABSTRACT

A fan unit is detachably attached on a side face of a housing, a heating element is housed in the housing, and the fan unit includes a fan configured to be detachably attached to the fan unit. The fan unit is configured to detachably support the fan so that when the fan unit is attached to the housing, directions in which the fan is attached to and detached from the fan unit are made different from directions in which the fan unit is attached to and detached from the housing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2017-210480 filed on Oct. 31, 2017, thecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a fan unit attached to a housing inwhich a heating element is housed, and having a fan to cool the heatingelement.

Description of the Related Art

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2014-175265 discloses aconfiguration in which, on the back face of a liquid crystal displayapparatus, a control circuit for controlling the liquid crystal displayapparatus, and a fan for cooling a light emitting apparatus of theliquid crystal display apparatus, are disposed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Concerning a fan unit attached to a housing in which a heating elementis housed, and having a fan to cool the heating element, it is desirablefor the fan to be attachable to and detachable from the fan unit.However, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2014-175265 does notsuggest a configuration in which the fan is attachable to and detachablefrom the fan unit.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fan unitsuch that a fan can be easily attached to and detached from the fanunit.

One of the aspects of the present invention resides in a fan unitdetachably attached on a side face of a housing, a heating elementhoused in the housing, the fan unit comprising a fan configured to bedetachably attached to the fan unit, wherein the fan unit is configuredto detachably support the fan so that when the fan unit is attached tothe housing, directions in which the fan is attached to and detachedfrom the fan unit are made different from directions in which the fanunit is attached to and detached from the housing.

According to the present invention, it is possible for the fan to beeasily attached to and detached from the fan unit.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following description whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which a preferredembodiment of the present invention is shown by way of illustrativeexample.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a controllerwith a fan unit of an embodiment mounted on is attached to the back faceof a display device;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the display device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the display device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a controller and auser interface unit are removed from the display device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating insertion and removal of amain board and control boards with respect to slots of a housing in FIG.1;

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the connection of a mainboard and a control board with a backboard, and the connection betweenthe backboard and a display device in a side view;

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the connection of a controlboard with a backboard in a rear view;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are side views illustrating schematic configurations ofcontrollers of comparative examples;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are side views illustrating schematic configurations ofcontrollers according to variational examples of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 10A and 10B are a rear view and a bottom view, respectively,illustrating a schematic configuration of a controller of a variationalexample of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are a rear view and a bottom view, respectively,illustrating a schematic configuration of a controller of a variationalexample of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 12A and 12B are a rear view and a bottom view, respectively,illustrating a schematic configuration of a controller of a variationalexample of FIG. 1;

FIG. 13 is a schematic view, partially cutaway, showing a user interfaceunit in FIGS. 1 to 5;

FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the connection of a userinterface unit of FIGS. 1 to 5 with a control board of a display deviceand a USB connector;

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of a user interface unit inFIGS. 1 to 5;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a controlleris separated from a display device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a supportmember is attached to a housing of the separated controller in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a partial rear view illustrating a state in which the supportmember of FIG. 17 is attached to a support member attachment structureof the housing;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which fans aretaken out from a fan unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a fan unitis detached from a separated controller;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a display-equipped controller;

FIG. 22 is a bottom view of the display-equipped control unit shown inFIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the connection between amain board and a control board and the connection between the main boardand a display device in a side view;

FIG. 24 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the connection between amain board and a control board in a rear view;

FIG. 25 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a support structure of acontrol board;

FIG. 26 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a support structure of acontrol board; and

FIG. 27 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a support structure of acontrol board.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A fan unit according to the present invention will be detailedhereinbelow by describing preferred embodiments with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

[Schematic Configuration of Controller 10 and Display Device 12]

A schematic configuration of a controller 10 on which a fan unit 28according to the present embodiment is mounted and a display device 12will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

The controller 10 is a control device for controlling the display device12. The display device 12 is a liquid crystal display unit having adisplay screen 16 (see FIG. 2) arranged on the front face, designated at14. Note that the display device 12 may be another type of display unit.The controller 10 may be applied to, for example, a numerical controldevice for a CNC (computer numerical control) machine tool. In thiscase, the display device 12 is provided for the operation panel of themachine tool. In the following description, the directions of up anddown, right and left, and front and rear are referred to in accordancewith those viewed from the front of the display screen 16 of the displaydevice 12, as shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5, the controller 10 and a user interfaceunit 20 are attached to a back face 18 opposite to the front face 14 ofthe display device 12, in a detachable manner. The user interface unit20 is connectable to unillustrated external devices. In this case, thecontroller 10 is detachably attached to the upper side of the back face18 of the display device 12. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and3 to 5, the user interface unit 20 is detachably attached to the lowercorner portion on the back face 18 of the display device 12.

The controller 10 has a box-shaped housing 22 detachably attached to theback face 18 of the display device 12. The bottom face, designated at 24(see FIGS. 4 to 6), of the housing 22 opposes the back face 18 of thedisplay device 12. In this case, the fan unit 28 that accommodates twofans 26 to cool the interior of the housing 22 is detachably attached onone side face 25 of the housing 22 (the one extending in the verticaldirection of the display device 12), which is located closest to theuser interface unit 20 among the side faces adjacent to the bottom face24 of the housing 22. It is sufficient that the fan unit 28 accommodatesat least one fan 26 therein.

Next, the configurations of the controller 10, the display device 12,the user interface unit 20, and the fan unit 28, as well as theconfiguration for attaching and detaching them will be described below.

[Configuration of Controller 10]

The controller 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7. Thecontroller 10 has the housing 22, a control unit 30 housed in thehousing 22 to control the display device 12, and a backboard 32 housedin the housing 22 and connected to the control unit 30. The housing 22is composed of a box-shaped casing body 22 a having an opening on thefront side of the housing 22 (on the back face 18 side of the displaydevice 12) and a bottom plate 22 b enclosing the opening portion of thecasing body 22 a. In this case, the side of the bottom plate 22 bopposing the back face 18 forms a bottom face 24. In the housing 22 (thecasing body 22 a), among the side faces adjacent to the bottom face 24,the lower side face (lower face 33) adjacent to the side face 25 towhich the fan unit 28 is attached is formed with a plurality of openings34 of different shapes or sizes.

Formed inside the housing 22 are a plurality of slots 36 extending fromthe openings 34 in the vertical direction (direction of insertion)parallel to the side face 25 to which the fan unit 28 is attached. Thatis, a plurality of partition plates 37 (see FIGS. 5 and 7) extend fromthe casing body 22 a's top plate, designated at 35, which is spacedfrom, and parallel to, the back face 18 of the display device 12, towardthe bottom plate 22 b. The plural partition plates 37 extend in thevertical direction and create a predetermined gap to the bottom plate 22b.

With this arrangement, the interior of the housing 22 is divided intoplural spaces communicating with each other. FIGS. 5 and 7 illustrate acase where two partition plates 37 provided on the left and rightdivides the interior of the housing 22 into four chambers, i.e., threechambers along the left-right direction and one chamber on the bottomplate 22 b's side. The plural divided chambers each form a slot 36, andeach slot 36 has an opening 34 formed on the lower face 33 side.Therefore, all the slots 36 are provided in the lower face 33 of thehousing 22. In this embodiment, a plurality of slots 36 may also beformed by adding a plurality of partition plates extending in theright-left direction to divide the interior space of the housing 22 withrespect to the vertical direction.

The backboard 32 is a substrate connected to a main board 38 and aplurality of control boards 168 which will be described later. Thebackboard 32 is disposed in parallel with the upper side face (a topface 39) of the housing 22 and perpendicular to the bottom face 24, onthe interior side of the housing 22 in the vertical direction, that is,on the far side in the vertical direction of the plural slots 36.

The control unit 30 includes the main board 38 and plural control boards168 which are accommodated in the plural slots 36 to control the displaydevice 12. The main board 38 and control boards 168 are insertable intoand removable from the slot 36. Since the shapes or sizes of the slots36 (openings 34) are different from each other, the main board 38 andplural control boards 168 are each shaped or sized to match theassociated opening 34 so as to be inserted into the corresponding slot36. As shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5, in the controller 10, the main board38 has a substrate 42 of the largest size and is accommodated in theslot 36 on the bottom face 24 side. In addition, the plural controlboards 168 each have a substrate 42 smaller in size than the main board38.

Provided in the housing 22 are guides 40 on both left and right sides ofeach slot 36. The guides 40 are each a guide rail provided in thevertical direction on the surfaces of the partition plates 37 and theside portions forming the side faces 25, 63 of the casing body 22 a ofthe housing 22. The guides 40 guide the main board 38 and plural controlboards 168 which are inserted into the slots 36, to the backboard 32along the vertical direction. Use of the guides 40 makes it unnecessaryto position the main board 38 and the plural control boards 168 withrespect to the front-rear direction and the right-left direction whenthey are inserted into the slots 36.

Each of the main board 38 and the plural control boards 168 includes asubstrate 42 extending in the vertical direction and guided by the leftand right guides 40 of the slots 36, a connector 44 provided on thebackboard 32 side of the substrate 42, and a cover 46 arranged on theopposite side of the connector 44 on the substrate 42. When the mainboard 38 or control board 168 is inserted into the slot 36, the cover 46abuts the lower face 33 of the housing 22 to close the opening 34. Thus,formation of the main board 38 and plural control boards 168 into unitsin this way facilitates the main board 38 and the plural control boards168 to be packaged and transported and also makes it easy to takeelectrostatic countermeasures for the main board 38 and plural controlboards 168.

As conceptually illustrated in FIG. 7, as to each of the plural controlboards 168, the connector 44 on the substrate 42 is arranged so that theattachment position of the connector 44 relative to the control board168 differs from the attachment positions of the other connectors whenthe multiple control boards 168 are viewed from the vertical direction(the direction of insertion). Here, shifting the positions of attachmentof connectors 44 with respect to either the right-left direction or thefront-rear direction can suffice the purpose.

In order to improve guiding for connection, absorbing of positionaldeviation, and insertion performance at the time of connecting theconnector 44 to an after-mentioned connector 54 provided on thebackboard 32, connectors 44 for the main board 38 and plural controlboards 168 preferably use a floating type. Here, as shown in FIGS. 1, 4,and 5, the main board 38 and plural control boards 168 may furtherinclude at least one of a connector 50 exposed to the outside throughthe cover 46 and connected to an external connector 48 and an electroniccomponent 52, such as a radiator, mounted on the substrate 42.

A plurality of connectors 54 are attached on the surface of thebackboard 32 facing the main board 38 and the plural control boards 168.The plural connectors 54 are connected to the connectors 44 of the mainboard 38 and plural control boards 168 which are inserted into theplural slots 36.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, when the substrate 42 is inserted into theslot 36 for each of the main board 38 and plural control boards 168, theinserted substrate 42 can be moved to the backboard 32 along the guides40 on the left and right sides. As a result, the connectors 44 of themain board 38 and plural control boards 168 are fitted to the connectors54 on the backboard 32 so that the main board 38 and plural controlboards 168 are electrically connected to the backboard 32. The fittedconnectors 44, 54 form junctions 56 for electrically connecting the mainboard 38 and the plural control boards 168 to the backboard 32. Further,as the main board 38 and the plural control boards 168 move to thebackboard 32, covers 46 abut the lower face 33 of the housing 22 andclose the openings 34 of the associated slots 36.

On the other hand, when the cover 46 of each of the main board 38 andplural control boards 168 which have been inserted in the slots 36 andelectrically connected to the backboard 32, is pulled downward, theconnector 44 and the connector 54 are separated from each other, so thatthe main board 38 and plural control boards 168 can be pulled out alongthe left and right guides 40 from the slot 36.

In this manner, it is possible to electrically connect the main board 38and the plural control boards 168 with the backboard 32 and take themout by inserting the main board 38 and the plural control boards 168into the slots 36 and removing (drawing) them therefrom. Thus, it ispossible to improve maintenance performance of the control unit 30 (themain board 38 and the control boards 168). That is, the main board 38and the plural control boards 168 can be easily exchanged by oneinsertion/removal operation of each board for the slot 36.

All the slots 36 are formed in the lower face 33 of the housing 22 so asto extend in the vertical direction parallel to the back face 18 of thedisplay device 12. Thereby, the main board 38 and the plural controlboards 168 can be easily inserted/removed without interfering with thedisplay device 12.

Furthermore, the plural slots 36 (openings 34) have different shapes orsizes, and the main board 38 and the plural control boards 168 each havea shape or size corresponding to the shape or size of the associatedopening 34. Accordingly, when inserting the main board 38 and the pluralcontrol boards 168 into the slots 36, erroneous insertion of the mainboard 38 and the plural control boards 168 can be prevented. Inaddition, the covers 46 provided on the main board 38 and the pluralcontrol boards 168 each have a shape or size corresponding to theopening 34 of the slot 36 into which they are inserted. Accordingly, itis possible to reliably prevent the main board 38 and the plural controlboards 168 from being erroneously inserted into a slot 36 other than thecorrect one.

Furthermore, the attachment positions of the connectors 44 on thecontrol boards 168 are shifted from each other. Thereby, it is possibleto prevent erroneous connection between the connectors 44, 54 when thecontrol board 168 is inserted into the slot 36. That is, it is possibleto prevent the connector 44 of a control board 168 from being wronglyconnected to a connector 54 other than correct one.

As shown in FIG. 6, a connector 58 is provided for the backboard 32. Theconnector 58 is provided on the face (the top face 39 side) of thebackboard 32 opposite to the face on which the plural connectors 54 areformed, and close to the bottom face 24. The connector 58 iselectrically connected to the plural connectors 54. This connector 58 isarranged so as to be exposed from the bottom face 24 to the outside. Aconnector 60 is provided in the upper part of the back face 18 of thedisplay device 12 so as to oppose the connector 58.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1, 4, and 5, an engagement claw 62 is formedin the fan unit 28 attached to the housing 22, on a side face 61,opposite from the side face 25 of the housing 22, extending in thevertical direction, and exposed to the outside. Another engagement claw(not shown) similar to the engagement claw 62 is provided on the sideface 63 of the housing 22, opposite from the side face 25. As thecounterpart, a pair of engagement parts 64 are provided on the left andright sides of the back face 18 of the display device 12, as shown inFIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 5, so as to be engaged with the engagement claw 62 andthe unillustrated engagement claw. A pair of plate-like positioningpieces 66 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) are provided at higher positions than theconnector 60 at the left and right sides of the back face 18 of thedisplay device 12. As to the attachment structure of the fan unit 28 tothe housing 22, description will be given later.

In this arrangement, in the state that the fan unit 28 is attached tothe housing 22 and that the bottom face 24 of the housing 22 ispositioned to oppose the back face 18 of the display device 12, thehousing 22 is moved to approach the back face 18. Then, the top face 39of the housing 22 comes into contact with the two positioning pieces 66and is positioned. In this state, as the housing 22 is brought closer tothe back face 18 of the display device 12, the two engagement claws (62and the unillustrated one) engage with the left and right engagementparts 64, respectively. Thus, the housing 22 is attached to the backface 18 of the display device 12. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, theconnector 58 on the backboard 32 side and the connector 60 of thedisplay device 12 are joined or fitted in the front-rear direction sothat the backboard 32 and the display device 12 are electricallyconnected.

Accordingly, the controller 10 is attached to the back face 18 of thedisplay device 12 by the engagement between the left engagement claw 62and the engagement part 64, the engagement between the right engagementclaw and the engagement part 64, and the fitting between the connector58 and the connector 60 (i.e., connected at three portions). As aresult, the main board 38 and plural control boards 168 become able tocontrol the display device 12 via the junction 56, the backboard 32 andthe two connectors 58, 60 and receive signals output from the displaydevice 12.

Moreover, in the backboard 32, in order to electrically connect the mainboard 38 and the plural control boards 168 to the display device 12,electrical connections from the main board 38 and the plural controlboards 168 are integrated into the single connector 58. Thus, it ispossible to further facilitate connection and disconnection between thecontroller 10 and the display device 12.

In the state where the controller 10 has been attached to the back face18 of the display device 12, as the engagement of the engagement claws(62 and the unillustrated one) with the engagement parts 64 is released,then the housing 22 is moved away to the rear from the back face 18 ofthe display device 12, the fitting state between the connector 58 andthe connector 60 is released so that the controller 10 can be removedfrom the back face 18 of the display device 12.

The above description has been given by providing a case where thecontroller 10 is attached to the back face 18 of the display device 12with the bottom face 24 of the housing 22 opposed against the back face18 of the display device 12. However, in the present embodiment, it isalso possible to configure the controller 10 so that the controller 10is attached to the back face 18 of the display device 12 with anotherface (for example, the top face 39) of the housing 22 opposed againstthe back face 18 of the display device 12. Further, in the abovedescription, the slots 36 are formed on the lower face 33 of the housing22, but the controller 10 may be configured so that slots 36 arearranged on the other face (for example, the side face 63) of thehousing 22.

[Variational Examples of Controller 10]

Next, variational examples of the controller 10 will be described withreference to FIGS. 8A to 12B. A variational example herein is aimed atfacilitating connectors 48 to be connected to the connectors 50 on themain board 38 and the plural control boards 168 (see FIGS. 1, 4 to 7),by manipulating the shape of the lower face 33 on which the opening 34(see FIGS. 5 and 7) of the housing 22 is formed and the shape of thecover 46. In this variational example, the same components as those ofthe controller 10 and the display device 12 described with reference toFIGS. 1 to 7 are allotted with the same reference numerals, and thedetailed description thereof is omitted. The same applies to those thatfollow. Also in the comparative examples of FIGS. 8A and 8B, the samecomponents as those of the controller 10 and the display device 12 ofFIGS. 1 to 7 are allotted with the same reference numerals fordescription.

In FIG. 8A, the lower face 33 of the housing 22 is formed of asubstantially flat plane. Therefore, in a state where the main board 38and the plural control boards 168 have been inserted in the slots 36(see FIGS. 5 and 7) with the openings 34 closed with the covers 46, theoperator needs to look at the cover 46 of the housing 22 from below andconfirm the positions of connectors 50 when plugging an externalconnector 48 into one of the connectors 50 on the main board 38 andplural control boards 168. That is, the task of inserting/removing theconnectors 48 into/from the connectors 50 is difficult to achievebecause of bad visibility.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, when a large connector 48 is connected tothe connector 50, the connector 48 after plugging in protrudes downwardbelow the display device 12 as indicated by the broken line. Therefore,there is a risk that the large connector 48 interferes with the lowerarea of the display device 12.

To deal with this, in this variational example, as shown in FIG. 9A, thelower face 33 of the housing 22 is configured to be stepwise so that theheights of slot openings are raised from the back face 18 of the displaydevice 12 toward the rear while the openings 34 are lidded by covers 46having L-shaped cross-sections. In this case, it is preferable that therise, or the vertical stepping area of each cover 46 of L-shape iswritten with information about the connector 48 to be connected to theconnector 50 or information about the connector 50 to be connected tothe connector 48. This enables the operator to easily identify theposition of a connector 50 into which a connector 48 is inserted. Thus,the visibility at the time of connecting the connectors 48, 50 isimproved so that connectors 48 can be easily inserted (plugged) into andremoved (unplugged) from connectors 50.

In this configuration, it is preferable that the board, either the mainboard 38 or the control board 168, having a connector 50 to which alarge connector 48 is plugged, is allotted to a slot 36 that is locateddistant from the back face 18 of the display device 12. Thereby, thismakes it possible to avoid protrusion of the plugged connector 48 belowthe display device 12 when the large connector 48 is connected to theconnector 50. Thus, interference of the large connector 48 with thelower area of the display device 12 can be avoided, so that it ispossible to mount a large connector 48 on the controller 10.

Further, as a further variational example from this, as shown in FIG.9B, the lower face 33 of the housing 22 may be obliquely inclined fromthe back face 18 of the display device 12 toward the rear. In this case,the portion forming the opening 34 is depressed upward and/or projecteddownward. As a result, a plurality of flat faces parallel to thefront-rear direction are formed, so that openings 34 can be formed ineach of the plural flat faces. Therefore, by lidding each opening 34with a cover 46 having an L-shaped cross-section, the same effect asthat of the configuration of FIG. 9A can be obtained.

FIGS. 10A to 12B are rear and bottom views of the display device 12 andcontroller 10 having variational arrangements of covers 46 in a housing22.

In FIGS. 10A and 10B, similarly to FIG. 9A, the lower face 33 of thehousing 22 is formed with three steps in a stair-like manner in therear-to-front direction with three parallel openings 34 (FIGS. 5 and 7)extending from left to right (one opening on each step). In this case,the main board 38 or the control board 168 having the same size isinserted into each of the three openings 34 (of slots 36). Therefore,each of the three openings 34 is closed with a cover 46 of the samesize. Each of the three covers 46 is formed with plural connectors 50,to each of which a connector 48 is plugged.

The configuration shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B is different from thatshown in FIGS. 10A and 10B in that in the lower face 33 of the housing22, the second and third steps to the rear from the back face 18 of thedisplay device 12 are each formed with two openings 34 arranged left andright (see FIGS. 5 and 7), which are closed with covers 46 of the samesize. In the second and third steps, each of the plural covers 46 isequipped with a control board 168 of the same size and one connector 50,to which a mating connector 48 is plugged in.

The configuration shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B is different from thatshown in FIGS. 11A and 11B in that each of the second and third steps isformed with two left and right openings 34 (see FIGS. 5 and 7) ofdifferent sizes, which are closed with covers 46 of different sizes. Inthe second and third steps, the plural covers 46 are each equipped witha control board 168 of a different size.

Also, the configurations of FIGS. 10A to 12B can produce the sameeffects as the configuration of FIGS. 9A and 9B does.

[Configuration of Display Device 12 and User Interface Unit 20]

The display device 12 and the user interface unit 20 will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 and FIGS. 13 to 16.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 16, the display device 12 has a controlsubstrate 70 arranged on the back face 18 side of the display screen 16(see FIG. 2) therein. The control substrate 70 has a connector 60 forcreating connection of control substrate 70 itself with the controller10 and a connector 72 for creating connection of control substrate 70itself with the user interface unit 20, arranged on the opposite facethereof (the face on the back face 18 side) from the display screen 16.As shown in FIG. 2, the display device 12 includes a touch panel 71provided on the front face 14 and a plurality of soft keys 73 arrangedaround the touch panel 71.

The control substrate 70 shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 14 is a control unitthat controls diverse components (e.g., the touch panel 71 and pluralsoft keys 73 in FIG. 2) in the display device 12. As shown in FIG. 3, aback plate 74 is mounted on the interior side of the left and rightengagement parts 64 and the two positioning pieces 66 on the back face18 of the display device 12. The control substrate 70 is covered frombehind by the back plate 74 and accommodated in the display device 12.FIGS. 4 and 16 show a state in which the back plate 74 is removed fromthe display device 12.

As described above, the connector 60 is a connector to be connected tothe connector 58 (see FIG. 6) of the controller 10. The connector 60 isprovided at a higher position on the back face 18 side face of thecontrol substrate 70, and is exposed to the rear through a partialcutaway in the back plate 74 (see FIG. 3). The connector 72 is providedat a lower portion of the back face 18 side face of the controlsubstrate 70 and is exposed to the rear through a partial cutaway of theback plate 74. Therefore, on the back face 18 of the display device 12,two connectors 60, 72 for interface connection are provided at differentplaces.

Formed near the connector 72 of the display device 12 is a rectangularopening 76 penetrating in the front-rear direction, as shown in FIGS. 4,13, and 14. As shown in FIG. 2, a lid 78 covering the opening 76 fromthe front is provided on the front face 14 of the display device 12.

As shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, the user interface unit 20 includes apouch-like resin case 80 that opens to the display device 12 side, aninterfacing substrate 82 extended in the front-rear direction of thedisplay device 12 and housed in the case 80, an interface connectingpart 84 provided through one face (the face on the left side of thedisplay device 12) and the other face (the face on the right side of thedisplay device 12) of the interfacing substrate 82, another interfaceconnecting part 86 provided on the one face of the interfacing substrate82, and a connector 88 provided on the other face of the interfacingsubstrate 82. The two interface connecting parts 84, 86 are arrangedvertically on the one face of the interfacing substrate 82. Further, thecase 80 has a form which is bulged rightward to accommodate theconnector 88.

The interface connecting part 84 is a USB (Universal Serial Bus)connector directed in the front-rear direction on the one face of theinterfacing substrate 82. On the other hand, the interface connectingpart 86 is a memory card slot directed in the front-rear direction onthe one face of the interfacing substrate 82. Here, another kind ofinterface connector may be adopted for each of the interface connectingparts 84, 86.

The connector 88 is a connector to be coupled with the connector 72 ofthe control substrate 70. In this case, the connector 88 is preferably afloating connector in order to improve guiding for connection, absorbingof positional deviation and insertion performance at the time ofconnection with the connector 72. As described above, the interfacingsubstrate 82 extends in the front-rear direction of the display device12, whereas the control substrate 70 extends in parallel with the backface 18 of the display device 12. Therefore, connection between theconnector 72 on the control substrate 70 and the connector 88 of theuser interface unit 20 preferably employs a perpendicular connectorassembly.

Here, as described above, when the controller 10 is attached to the backface 18 of the display device 12, the connector 58 of the controller 10and the connector 60 of the control substrate 70 are connected.

On the other hand, when the user interface unit 20 is brought close tothe back face 18 of the display device 12 and the connector 88 isconnected to the connector 72 of the control substrate 70, theinterfacing substrate 82 is arranged perpendicularly to the controlsubstrate 70 and connected to the control substrate 70 as it is. Thus,the user interface unit 20 is attached to the back face 18 of thedisplay device 12. In this case, the opening 76 and the connector 88 arecovered from behind by the case 80. Further, the two interfaceconnecting parts 84, 86 are disposed in the opening 76.

Accordingly, when the operator faces the front side of the displaydevice 12 and opens the lid 78, the two interface connecting parts 84,86 can be seen through the opening 76. The operator can insert a USBconnector 90 into the interface connecting part 84 from the front face14 of the display device 12 through the opening 76. The USB connector 90is connected to an external device such as a memory or a keyboard.Further, the operator can insert a memory card 92 such as a SD (SecureDigital) card into the interface connecting part 86 from the front face14 of the display device 12 through the opening 76.

In this way, in this embodiment, it is possible to connect the displaydevice 12 with the controller 10 and connect the display device 12 withthe USB connector 90 and the memory card 92 with a simple configuration.Further, since the operator can easily access the two interfaceconnecting parts 84, 86 through the opening 76, it is possible to moreeasily connect the interface connecting parts 84, 86 with the USBconnector 90 and the memory card 92. Moreover, the control substrate 70can output signals or information from the controller 10 to the externaldevice via the USB connector 90 via the connectors 72, 88, theinterfacing substrate 82 and the interface connecting parts 84, 86, orstore the information in the memory card 92. Note that the memory card92 storing information is taken out from the interface connecting part86 and connected to external devices.

In this case, since the two connectors 72, 88 are provided so that theinterfacing substrate 82 can be connected perpendicularly (at a rightangle) to the control substrate 70, the user interface unit 20 can beconnected to the control substrate 70 in a limited space in the backface 18 of the display device 12. Moreover, since connection between thetwo connectors 72, 88 employs a perpendicular connector assembly, thecontrol substrate 70 and the interfacing substrate 82 can be easilyconnected perpendicularly.

Here, when the user interface unit 20 is pulled out rearward while theuser interface unit 20 and the control substrate 70 are connected, theconnection between the two connectors 72, 88 is released and the userinterface unit 20 can easily be detached from the back face 18 of thedisplay device 12. In this way, the display device 12 is configured soas to allow the user interface unit 20 to be removed. As a result, thedepth or dimension in the front-rear direction of the display device 12becomes smaller, which makes the display device 12 easy to transport.

In FIGS. 2, 13 and 14, the opening 76 and the lid 78 are provided sothat the operator can access the interface connecting parts 84, 86 fromthe front face 14 of the display device 12. However, the opening 76 andthe lid 78 may be provided on a side face of the display device 12. Alsoin this case, the operator can open the lid 78 from the side of thedisplay device 12 and access the interface connecting parts 84, 86 ofthe user interface unit 20 through the opening 76.

The user interface unit 20 further includes a holding member 94 and asealing member 96. The holding member 94 is attached to the opening ofthe case 80 and accommodates the interfacing substrate 82 in the case80. An opening through which the USB connector 90 and the memory card 92are inserted is formed in the holding member 94. By connecting the twoconnectors 72, 88, the sealing member 96 seals between the userinterface unit 20 and the control substrate 70 when they are connected.

As a result, when the lid 78 is open and the opening 76 is exposed, itis possible to prevent foreign matter such as cutting fluid of themachine tool from entering from the outside through the opening 76 andcontaminating the control substrate 70 and the interfacing substrate 82.Here, the sealing member 96 may be attached to the brim of the case 80or may be disposed on the control substrate 70 so as to surround theopening 76.

It should be noted that connection between the display device 12 and theuser interface unit 20 is not limited to use of a perpendicularconnector assembly (connectors 72, 88), but another connection methodsuch as use of a flexible cable can be applied.

[Attaching and Detaching Structures of Controller 10, Fan 26, and FanUnit 28]

Referring now to FIGS. 16 to 20, the attaching and detaching structuresof the controller 10, the fan 26, and the fan unit 28 will be described.

As described above, the controller 10 is detachably attached to the backface 18 of the display device 12. Therefore, it is preferable that thesame controller 10 can be used in both the state where the controller 10and the display device 12 are integrated as shown in FIG. 1 and thestate where the controller 10 and the display device 12 are separated asshown in FIG. 17.

For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 17 and FIG. 18, when the controller10 is separated from the back face 18 of the display device 12, thehousing 22 is supported by attaching a support member 100 to the housing22. The housing 22 is provided with a support member attachmentstructure 102 for attachment to the support member 100. The supportmember attachment structure 102 is provided on the top face 39 locatedopposite from the lower face 33 of the housing 22 in which the slots 36(see FIGS. 5 and 7) are formed.

The support member 100 is a plate-like bracket attached to the top face39 of the housing 22. The support member 100 has an attachment face 106extending in the longitudinal direction thereof and abutting the topface 39 of the housing 22. Provided on the attachment face 106 are fourprojections 108 projecting toward the top face 39 of the housing 22 andtwo engagement claws 110 arranged on both sides with respect to thelength of the attachment face 106. Mounting holes 112 are formed at bothlongitudinal ends of the support member 100. In this case, the supportmember 100 can be mounted to an unillustrated mounting object byinserting unillustrated joint members through the mounting holes 112 andfixing the joint members to the mounting object (not shown).

On the other hand, the support member attachment structure 102 providedon the top face 39 of the housing 22 includes a plurality of holes 114formed on the left and right sides of the top face 39 to receive theplural projections 108 (i.e., the projections 108 being fitted into theholes 114), and two engagement recesses 116 formed on the left and rightsides of the top face 39 to engage with the two engagement claws 110.

Here, the controller 10 is detached from the back face 18 of the displaydevice 12, and with the attachment face 106 of the support member 100opposed to the top face 39 of the housing 22 of the controller 10, thesupport member 100 is moved to approach the housing 22. As a result,while the plural projections 108 are fitted into the plural holes 114,the two engagement claws 110 and the two engagement recesses 116 becomeengaged with each other, whereby the housing 22 is attached to thesupport member 100. Next, by inserting joint members (not shown) throughthe mounting holes 112 and fixing the joint members to the mountingobject, the controller 10 is fixed to the mounting object via thesupport member 100.

As the controller 10, which has been fixed to the mounting object viathe support member 100, is pulled in such a direction as to separatefrom the support member 100, the two engagement claws 110 are releasedfrom the two engagement recesses 116, thus the controller 10 can beeasily detached from the support member 100.

As described above, the support member attachment structure 102 isformed on the top face 39 of the housing 22, different from the bottomface 24 of the housing 22 to be attached to the back face 18 of thedisplay device 12, and the lower face 33 of the housing 22 where slots36 are formed. In this case, in a state where the controller 10 isdetached from the back face 18 of the display device 12, the controller10 attached to the support member 100 via the support member attachmentstructure 102, is supported on the mounting object via the supportmember 100. Thereby, the housing 22 can be easily attached to anddetached from the support member 100 without affecting insertion/removalof the main board 38 and the control boards 168 andattachment/detachment of the controller 10 to/from the back face 18 ofthe display device 12. As a result, it is possible to use the samecontroller 10 both in the integrated state of the controller 10 and thedisplay device 12 and in their separated state.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 17, 19 and 20, the controller 10 further has, onthe side face 25 of the housing 22, a fan attaching structure 120 fordetachably attaching the fans 26 and the fan unit 28 to the housing 22.

The fan attaching structure 120 includes an attaching portion 122extending from the bottom plate 22 b (see FIGS. 5 and 6) of the housing22 to the left of the housing 22, an extended portion 124 extended inthe casing body 22 a to the left on the top face 39 side of the housing22, a stepped portion 126 formed on a surface (the surface on the lowerface 33 side) opposite to the top face 39 of the extended portion 124, aconnecting part 128 such as a connector provided in the stepped portion126, an engagement recess 130 formed close to the lower face 33 side onthe side face 25 of the housing 22.

It is preferable that the connecting part 128 is electrically connectedto the backboard 32 (see FIGS. 5 to 7). Further, the connecting part 128is connected to a connecting part such as a connector (not shown) of thefan unit 28 when the fan unit 28 is attached to the side face 25 of thehousing 22. Therefore, the connecting part 128 needs to be arranged at aposition of the housing 22 so as to come into contact with the fan unit28 when the fan unit 28 is attached to the side face 25 of the housing22. The connecting part of the fan unit 28 is electrically connected tothe two fans 26 housed in the fan unit 28. Thus, the two fans 26accommodated in the fan unit 28 can be driven by the main board 38 andthe plural control boards 168 via the backboard 32, the connecting part128 and the connecting part of the fan unit 28.

The fan unit 28 is a rectangular casing that extends in the verticaldirection of the housing 22 and is capable of accommodating two fans 26.Formed on the face (the face distant from the display device 12) of thefan unit 28 on the side opposite to the attaching portion 122 is anopening 132 for placing the two fans 26. The two fans 26 are insertedinto the fan unit 28 through the opening 132, and are set side by sidein the longitudinal direction of the fan unit 28 (the vertical directionof the housing 22).

In this case, in the state where the fan unit 28 is attached to thehousing 22, the two fans 26 each generate an air current in the lateral(right-left) direction inside the housing 22 (the direction orthogonalto the longitudinal direction of the fan unit 28). Therefore, the sideface 25 of the housing 22 has two openings 134 (see FIGS. 4 and 20)having shapes and sizes corresponding to the two fans 26, formedadjacently above and below. In this case, it is preferable that anopening (not shown) is also formed on the side face 63 of the housing22.

A grating 136 of slits having a shape and size corresponding to the twofans 26 is formed on the side face 61 of the fan unit 28. In the sideface 61 of the fan unit 28, the above-described engagement claw 62 isarranged on the attaching portion 122 side of the side face 61 so as notto overlap the grating 136.

In the state where the fan unit 28 is attached to the side face 25 ofthe housing 22, as the two fans 26 are driven, air current is generatedin the housing 22 in the lateral direction. The generated air flow coolsthe control unit 30 (see FIGS. 5 to 7) and others, which emit heat inthe housing 22, and is discharged to the outside through the twoopenings 134, the two fans 26 and the grating 136.

A bottom face 138 on the side opposite to the surface on which theopening 132 of the fan unit 28 is formed is placed on the attachingportion 122 (see FIGS. 4 and 20). Further, the top face 39 side of thefan unit 28 is formed in a stepped shape so as to mate with the extendedportion 124 and the stepped portion 126. Further, on the top face 39side of the fan unit 28, an unillustrated connecting part connectable tothe connecting part 128 is provided.

Furthermore, on the lower face 33 side of the fan unit 28, a left cornerportion is depressed. Thereby, this makes it possible to avoidinterference between the fan unit 28 and the user interface unit 20 whenthe user interface unit 20 is attached to the back face 18 of thedisplay device 12 after the housing 22 with the fan unit 28 attached isattached to the back face 18 of the display device 12. Additionally, anengagement claw 140 capable of engaging with the engagement recess 130is provided on the lower face 33 side of the fan unit 28.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 20, the fan unit 28 can be attached to anddetached from the housing 22 in the vertical direction (the directionalong the bottom face 24 of the housing 22). Further, as shown in FIG.19, the two fans 26 can be attached to and detached from the fan unit 28in the front-rear direction (the direction normal to the bottom face 24of the housing 22).

The fan unit 28 can be attached to or detached from the housing 22 inthe vertical direction in both the state where the controller 10 isattached to the back face 18 of the display device 12 as shown in FIGS.1 and 19, and the state where the controller 10 is separated from theback face 18 of the display device 12 as shown in FIG. 20.

Here, in a case where the housing 22 is attached to the back face 18 ofthe display device 12, the fan unit 28 can be attached to and detachedfrom the side face 25 of the housing 22 in the vertical direction whenthe user interface unit 20 has been detached from the back face 18 ofthe display device 12.

First, the case where the fan unit 28 is attached to the side face 25 ofthe housing 22 will be described. As shown in FIG. 20, the fan unit 28is brought close to the housing 22 with the extended portion 124 and thestepped portion 126 of the housing 22 opposed to the top face 39 side ofthe fan unit 28 in the vertical direction. As a result, the bottom face138 of the fan unit 28 contacts the attaching portion 122, and the sideface of the fan unit 28 on the engagement claw 140 side contacts theside face 25 of the housing 22. Next, the fan unit 28 is moved along theside face 25 of the housing 22 and the attaching portion 122 toward theextended portion 124 and the stepped portion 126. As a result, the topface 39 side of the fan unit 28 is brought into contact with theextended portion 124 and the stepped portion 126 so that the connectingpart 128 and the connecting part of the fan unit 28 are connected whilethe engagement claw 140 becomes engaged with the engagement recess 130.Thereby, the fan unit 28 is attached to the side face 25 of the housing22.

On the other hand, when the fan unit 28 is detached from the side face25 of the housing 22, the fan unit 28 is moved along the attachingportion 122 away from the extended portion 124 and the stepped portion126 in a state where the engagement claw 140 is released from theengagement recess 130. As a result, the connection between theconnecting part 128 and the connecting part of the fan unit 28 isreleased. As the fan unit 28 is further moved downward, the fan unit 28can be detached from the side face 25 of the housing 22.

The two fans 26 are attached to and detached from the fan unit 28 viathe opening 132. As described above, since the fan unit 28 can beattached to and detached from the side face 25 of the housing 22 byvertical movement, the directions (first directions) of attachment andremoval of the fan unit 28 with respect to the housing 22 and thedirections (second directions) of attachment and removal of the two fans26 with respect to the fan unit 28 are different from each other.

In this way, since the fan attaching structure 120 enables the fan unit28 having the fans 26 therein to be attached to and detached from thehousing 22, the fans 26 and the fan unit 28 can be easily replaced.Further, when the controller 10 and the display device 12 are used in astate of either being integrated or separated, it is possible to easilycool the control unit 30 which emits heat inside the housing 22.

Moreover, since the fan attaching structure 120 is arranged on the sideface 25, which is different from the bottom face 24 of the housing 22attached to the back face 18 of the display device 12 and the lower face33 of the housing 22 in which slots 36 are formed, the fans 26 and thefan unit 28 can be attached to and detached from the housing 22 withoutaffecting insertion and removal of the main board 38 and the pluralcontrol boards 168 and attachment of the housing 22 to the back face 18of the display device 12. Furthermore, since the fans 26 are detachablyattached to the fan unit 28, the fan 26 can be easily replaced.

When the fan unit 28 is attached to the side face 25 of the housing 22by the fan attaching structure 120, the directions (second directions)in which the fans 26 are attached to and detached from the fan unit 28are made different from the directions (first directions) in which thefan unit 28 is attached to and detached from the side face 25 of thehousing 22. Accordingly, replacement of the fan unit 28 for the housing22 and replacement of fans 26 for the fan unit 28 can be performed moreeasily.

In this case, the fan unit 28 can be detached from the housing 22 bymovement in a direction along the bottom face 24 of the housing 22opposing the back face 18 of the display device 12. Further, the fans 26can be detached from the fan unit 28 by movement in a direction awayfrom the bottom face 24 of the housing 22. Thereby, the fans 26 and thefan unit 28 can be replaced efficiently.

The advantage of this configuration can be obtained as long as thedirections in which the fans 26 are attached to and detached from thefan unit 28 and the directions in which the fan unit 28 is attached toand detached from the side face 25 of the housing 22 are different fromeach other. Therefore, instead of the above configuration, the fan unit28 may be attachable and detachable by front-rear movement with respectto the housing 22 while two fans 26 may be detachably attached to thefan unit 28 in the vertical direction. Even in this case, the aboveeffect can be easily obtained.

[Configuration of Display-Equipped Controller 150]

Referring next to FIG. 21 to FIG. 27, a display-equipped controller 150(hereinafter also simply referred to as a controller 150) will bedescribed.

This controller 150 is different from the controller 10 of FIGS. 1 to 20in that the controller has a display device 12 with no backboard 32attached. The controller 150 includes a display device 12, a housing 151disposed on the back face, designated at 18, of the display device 12, amain board 152 and a radiator 154 supported by the housing 151.

The housing 151 is an attaching structure for attaching the main board152 and the radiator 154 to the back face 18 of the display device 12.As shown in FIGS. 21, 22 and 24 to 27, the housing 151 includes a frame156 forming four side faces (side faces 25, 63, a lower face 33, a topface 39) and a bottom plate 158 connected to the frame 156 and forming abottom face 24. A portion of the frame 156 on the side opposite to thedisplay device 12 is formed as a stepped portion 160 projecting rearwardfrom the housing 151. Further, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 25 to 27, thestepped portion 160 is provided with an engagement claw 162 thatprojects rearward. The details of FIGS. 25 to 27 will be describedlater.

The radiator 154 is provided to discharge heat from the heating elementsin the controller 150 such as the main board 152 to the outside and isattached to the stepped portion 160 by being engaged with the engagementclaw 162. As shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, the radiator 154 has largeradiating fins covering the main board 152 from behind. The main board152 is a control substrate for controlling the display device 12 and isattached to the radiator 154 by joint parts 164 such as push pins sothat the main board is disposed between the radiator 154 and the backface 18 of the display device 12. Here, the main board 152 is a controlsubstrate greater in size than an after-mentioned control board 168.

In this case, the main board 152 is arranged between the radiator 154and the back face 18 of the display device 12 and supported by the jointparts 164 from the radiator 154. As a result, the main board 152 isarranged in the controller 150 so as to be parallel with the back face18 and spaced from the back face 18 of the display device 12 at apredetermined distance. Further, the radiator 154 is disposed oppositefrom the display device 12 with respect to the main board 152 (behindthe main board 152) so as to cover the main board 152 from the rear,being parallel with the back face 18 and spaced from the back face 18 ofthe display device 12 at a predetermined distance.

Provided on the top face 39 side of the main board 152 is a connector166 connected to the connector 60 of the display device 12, as shown inFIG. 23. In this case, the connector 60 of the display device 12 and theconnector 166 of the main board 152 constitute a junction 167 forelectrically connecting the display device 12 and the main board 152.The junction 167 is preferably of a parallel connector assembly.Thereby, the main board 152 can control the display device 12 via thejunction 167 (the connectors 60, 166).

In the controller 150, a plurality of control boards 168 are removablyinserted into the space between the main board 152 and the bottom plate158. The controller 150 includes a support structure 170 that detachablysupports plural control boards 168 between the main board 152 and thebottom plate 158. The plural control boards 168 of the controller 150have similar configuration as those of the controller 10 shown in FIGS.1 to 20. Thereby, the control boards 168 can be commonly used by thecontroller 150 and the controller 10.

As shown in FIGS. 22 to 24, the space between the main board 152 and thebottom plate 158 is divided into a plurality of chambers by pluralpartition plates 172 extending in the vertical direction. Formed in thelower face 33 of the housing 151 are a plurality of openings 174communicating with the plural chambers. Thus, each of the pluralchambers is formed as a slot 176 extending in the vertical direction.The plural control boards 168 are each accommodated in the plural slots176 such that the control boards 168 are insertable into and removablefrom the slots 176, respectively. FIG. 24 is a conceptual view showingthe storage state of the plural control boards 168 in the housing 151when viewed from the rear.

The support structure 170 is provided in each of the plural slots 176and has guides 178 arranged in the vertical direction on the partitionplates 172 or the frame 156. In each of the plural slots 176, the guides178 on the left and right sides each are a guide rail and guide thecontrol board 168 inserted into the slot 176 in the vertical directionup to the top face 39 side of the housing 151 (a point near theconnector 166 in FIG. 23). Use of the guides 178 makes it unnecessary toposition the control boards 168 with respect to the front-rear directionand the right-left direction when they are inserted into the slot 176.

Each of the plural control boards 168 includes a substrate 180 extendingin the vertical direction and guided by the left and right guides 178, aconnector 182 provided on the substrate 180 on the side close to theconnector 166, and a cover 184 arranged on the opposite side of theconnector 182 on the substrate 180. When the control board 168 isinserted into the slot 176, the cover 184 abuts the lower face 33 of thehousing 151 to close the opening 174. Also in the controller 150,formation of the control board 168 into a unit facilitates the controlboard 168 to be packaged and transported and also makes it easy to takeelectrostatic countermeasures for the control boards 168.

As conceptually illustrated in FIG. 24, also in the controller 150, asto each of the control boards 168, the connector 182 on each substrate180 is arranged so that the attachment position of the connector 182relative to the control board 168 differs from the attachment positionsof the other connectors when the plural control boards 168 are viewedfrom the vertical direction (the direction of insertion). Accordingly,also in the controller 150, the effect thanks to differentiating theattachment positions of the connectors 182 can be easily obtained. Alsofor the attachment positions of the connectors 182, the connectors maybe shifted in either the right-left direction or the front-reardirection. In addition, the connector 182 is preferably a floatingconnector in order to improve guiding for connection, absorbing ofpositional deviation and insertion performance at the time of connectionwith an after-mentioned connector 186 formed on the main board 152.Further, the plural control boards 168 each have a connector 188 whichis exposed to the outside through the cover 184 and connected to anexternal connector.

As shown in FIG. 23, a plurality of connectors 186 are attached to thebottom face of the main board 152, at positions opposing the pluralcontrol boards 168. The plural connectors 186 are each connected to theconnector 182 of the associated one of the plural control boards 168inserted in the plural slots 176. In this case, the connector 182 on thecontrol board 168 and the connector 186 on the main board 152 constitutea junction 189 for electrically connecting the main board 152 and thecontrol board 168. The junction 189 is preferably of a parallelconnector assembly. Further, as shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, a plurality ofconnectors 190 to be connected to external connectors are arrayed on theface of the main board 152 that opposes the radiator 154, near the edgeof the lower face 33.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 21 to 24, as the substrate 180 is inserted intothe slot 176 for each of the plural control boards 168, the insertedsubstrate 180 can be moved to the connector 186 along the guides 178 onthe left and right sides. As a result, the connector 182 of the controlboard 168 and the connector 186 of the main board 152 are engaged witheach other (e.g., by fitting) so that the control board 168 and the mainboard 152 are electrically connected. Further, as the control board 168moves to the connector 186, the cover 184 abuts the lower face 33 of thehousing 151 to close the opening 174 of the slot 176.

On the other hand, when the cover 184 of the control board 168 held inthe slot 176 and electrically connected to the main board 152 is pulleddownward, the connector 182 is separated from the connector 186 so thatthe control board 168 can be pulled out of the slot 176 along the leftand right guides 178.

In this manner, the controller 150 is constructed such that the controlboards 168 are removably inserted into the space (slots 176) between themain board 152 and the bottom plate 158 of the housing 151 on the backface 18 side of the display device 12 while the radiator 154 is laid outbehind the main board 152. As a result it is possible to arrange thecontrol boards 168 and the radiator 154 efficiently in the controller150.

In addition, since the support structure 170 having the guides 178 forguiding the insertion of the control board 168 is provided in thehousing 151, the control board 168 can be easily inserted into andpulled out from the slot 176.

Furthermore, since the support structure 170 is provided for each of theplural slots 176, each of the plural control boards 168 can be easilyinserted into and pulled out from the slots 176. In this case, theplural slots 176 are arranged in parallel along the back face 18 of thedisplay device 12 while the support structure 170 is provided for eachof the plural slots 176, so that the plural control boards 168 can beefficiently inserted and pulled out.

Since the housing 151 itself constitutes the attaching structure forattaching the main board 152 and the radiator 154 to the back face 18 ofthe display device 12, and also includes the support structure 170 as apart thereof, the housing 151 as the attaching structure and the supportstructure 170 are integrated. Thereby, the number of parts of thecontroller 150 can be reduced.

Further, since the junction 167 (connectors 60, 166) is of a parallelconnector assembly, it is possible to easily connect the controlsubstrate 70 arranged parallel to the back face 18 of the display device12 with the main board 152. Furthermore, since the junction 189(connectors 182, 186) is of a horizontal connector assembly, the controlboard 168 and the main board 152 can be easily connected when thecontrol board 168 is inserted into the slot 176.

The support structure 170 can be configured as shown in FIGS. 25 to 27.

In FIG. 25, the support structure 170 is attached to the main board 152while the housing 151 and the support structure 170 are separated. Inthis case, the support structure 170 includes a bottom plate 192,partition plates 172 joined to the bottom plate 192 and having guides178 formed thereon, and an engagement claw 194 formed on each of thepartition plates 172 at the end on the main board 152 side and engagingwith the main board 152. In this structure, when a trouble takes placewith the support structure 170, it is possible to replace the supportstructure 170 alone, so that maintainability of the controller 150 canbe improved.

In FIG. 26, the partition plate 172 is extended from the bottom plate158 of the housing 151 toward the main board 152 so that the supportstructure 170 is integrally formed with the housing 151. In this case,the support structure 170 is not connected to the main board 152.

In FIG. 27, the partition plate 172 is extended from the main board 152toward the bottom plate 158, and the housing 151 and the supportstructure 170 are separated. In this case, the support structure 170 isintegrally formed with the main board 152, being hung down from the mainboard 152.

In any of the configurations, the support structure 170 has the guides178, the aforementioned advantage can be easily obtained.

In the above description, the attaching structure for attaching the mainboard 152 and the radiator 154 to the back face 18 of the display device12 is not limited to the above-described housing 151. For example, themain board 152 and the radiator 154 may be supported on the back face 18of the display device 12 by support members such as plural supportcolumns. As for the electrical connection between the display device 12and the main board 152, other connecting means such as a flexible cablemay be used in place of the above-described connectors 60, 166.

[Technical Idea Obtained from the Embodiment]

Technical ideas that can be grasped from the above embodiment will bedescribed below.

The fan unit (28) is detachably attached on the side face (25) of thehousing (22), the heating element (30) housed in the housing (22), thefan unit (28) including the fan (26) configured to be detachablyattached to the fan unit (28), wherein the fan unit (28) is configuredto detachably support the fan (26) so that when the fan unit (28) isattached to the housing (22), directions in which the fan (26) isattached to and detached from the fan unit (28) are made different fromdirections in which the fan unit (28) is attached to and detached fromthe housing (22).

This configuration makes it possible for the fan (26) to be attached toand detached from the fan unit (28) easily. Further, replacement of thefan unit (28) for the housing (22) and replacement of the fan (26) forthe fan unit (28) can be performed easily.

The fan unit (28) is configured to be detached from the housing (22) inthe first direction along the side face (25) of the housing (22), andthe fan (26) is configured to be detached from the fan unit (28) in thesecond direction along the side face (25) of the housing (22), thesecond direction being different from the first direction.

Thus, the replacement of the fan (26) and the fan unit (28) for thehousing (22) can be performed more easily.

The housing (22) is attached to the back face (18) of the display device(12), the first direction is a direction along the bottom face (24) ofthe housing (22) opposed against the back face (18) of the displaydevice (12) or a direction away from the bottom face (24) of the housing(22), the second direction is the direction away from the bottom face(24) of the housing (22) or the direction along the bottom face (24) ofthe housing (22).

Thus, the fan (26) and the fan unit (28) can be detachably attached tothe housing (22) without affecting attachment/detachment of thecontroller (10) to/from the back face (18) of the display device (12).

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above,and it goes without saying that the embodiments can be freely modifiedwithin a range that does not deviate from the essence and gist of thepresent invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fan unit detachably attached on a side face ofa housing, a heating element housed in the housing, the fan unitcomprising a fan configured to be detachably attached to the fan unit,wherein the fan unit is configured to detachably support the fan so thatwhen the fan unit is attached to the housing, directions in which thefan is attached to and detached from the fan unit are made differentfrom directions in which the fan unit is attached to and detached fromthe housing.
 2. The fan unit according to claim 1, wherein: the fan unitis configured to be detached from the housing in a first direction alongthe side face of the housing; and the fan is configured to be detachedfrom the fan unit in a second direction along the side face of thehousing, the second direction being different from the first direction.3. The fan unit according to claim 2, wherein: the housing is attachedto a back face of a display device; the first direction is a directionalong the bottom face of the housing opposed against the back face ofthe display device or a direction away from the bottom face of thehousing; the second direction is the direction away from the bottom faceof the housing or the direction along the bottom face of the housing.